Keep Your Heart Open
by songstressclch
Summary: 5 years after YRP reunites for a last mission..Rikku gets a little older & is finally able to live by a story of her own, within Spira's newly born city..a born city that never sleeps
1. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE:**

_After all that had happened..five years after Paine reunited the Gullwings for a last mission to climb Yadanoki Tower, Rikku and Yuna had settled their differences after arguing over jealousy and Yuna's neglect towards her cousin when finding her lost love Tidus on the Besaid shore. Rikku was now 22 years of age..a young woman, not wishing to express what she felt, but still wanting to experience new love.. again.._

Rikku made a living in the newly built City of Bikanel with her new career as a blitzball player on the Al Behd Psyches, still searching the world, but from her own point of view now. Gippal was the Psyches newly found team captain, shortly after he dissolved the Machine Faction. The city was created with a special enlarged sphere that absorbed the thoughts and imagination of the builders. With less time then Shinra once thought, in only four years, another city that never sleeps was born..the most historic city since Zanarkand. Bikanel was built to stretch across more than half of the entire desert to make it impossible for tourists or travelers to miss it. The remaining of the desert that wasn't used was turned into granite-like streets, with lights to guide the way.

_Now the first largest city.._

_A Gift.._

_Located at the Soul of Spira.._


	2. Reminded

**((((****Disclaimer****: this chapter starts out with a flashback of the Moogle mission in luca from Final Fantasy x2, a piece of the script, so it belongs to Square Enix! i just made it out to be a symbol for what goes on after that script ^_^))))**

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_(These are our memories..Yours and mine._

_But..I don't think I'm ready to let them be memories yet._

_Maybe I'm confused..but_

_.._

_Yuna: It's okay.)_

_Paine: What's with you?_

_Yuna:A dream, I think. __My heart won't stop pounding!_

_Rikku: __That's not a dream,Not if your heart's pounding like that! You and someone you care about are connected somehow, that's what it is. _

_.._

_Rikku: I felt that way too._

_Paine: About who?_

_'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' ''''''''''''''''''''''''_

_Rikku sat upon the roof of her fathers machinary lab..as music played over again in her mind, watching the sun set behind the peach colored clouds. She lightly shut her eyes for a moment and smiled, knowing that Sin, in the fifteen years of her young life, has never invaded her home, in the deserts at least. Her eyes propped open once she heard the sounds of someone climbing up to the lab roof, in turn she immediately stood up, assuming it was her father._

_"Hey..it's Cid's little girl!"_

_A voice exclaimed in a soft, teasing matter which belonged to a young teenage boy who only appeared to be wearing his red shorts with matching boots. He smirked as a laugh filled her countenance,_

_"How you doing? _

_He questioned her._

_"I'd feel better if you'd put a shirt on!"_

_He came closer and playfully grabbed her hand to place it gently upon the ripples of his abs, Rikku's eyes widened slightly, trying to hide the tint of red flush in her cheeks, soon removing her hand from his grip._

_"Gippal!"_

_She couldn't hide the smile behind her lips._

_"Heh heh..I'm sorry, i was playing blitz with your brother at the lake."_

_Stepping back a little,_

_"Speaking of which, i left my shirt there",_

_Gippal jumped off the roof, landing on the sand, looking back at Rikku as he finished,_

_"You coming?"_

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_When they reached the lake, he began to stare at her seemingly bothered expression with her eyes to the ground while tightening up his shirt._

_"Gipp?"_

_He answered,_

_"What's up?"_

_"Your departure for the Crimson Squad is in a month, isn't it?_

_"Yeah. ."_

_"Your leaving home."_

_Rikku looked him in the eyes as he took a moment, noticing the silence filled in between them,_

_"I'm gonna miss you Gippal."_

_He smiled softly, looking at the ground now, moving his foot back and forth in the sand,_

_"Oh yeah?. .Well, I'm going to miss you more Rikku."_

_Rikku laughed lightly, and smiled lovingly,_

_"At least. .at least we'll always have something to remember." _

_Gippal placed his hands on her hips, gradually wrapping his arms around her waist, while lowering his head near her shoulders to lightly kiss her neck. ._

_"Heh heh, That's right."_

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Rikku awoke from her rest by the heavy beating of her heart. She lifted herself slowly from the bed of her apartment, placing a hand upon her chest when the heavy pounding began to grow faint. As her mind wandered for a moment, it was odd..after realizing what she had just dreamed. Those memories from years ago that she thought she'd forgotten about, all came drifting back to her in such a way. Despite her being convinced that the way she once felt was long gone.

She yawned, making her way over to the closet to start the day.

"Ugh..why would I dream of something that happened ages ago."


	3. Bottled Up Inside

Rikku made a visit to the breakfast bar in Bikanel to meet up with Paine for a morning brunch. As she glanced around the bar, looking for her friend, she noticed the large plate, sitting on a table with fruits and vegetables placed on it, in which Paine was seated next to. Rikku grinned, making her way quietly over to the table to surprise Paine, although she was well aware that surprises annoyed her.

"Paine!"

She said, hugging her from behind in excitment, then seating herself in the booth across from hers.

"Same old Rikku, huh."

Paine shook her head sarcastically, almost amused by her approach.

"Maybe, but i think meeting old friends just brings back old attitudes."

Paine gave her a look of curiousity,

"Oh really, so you're saying you've changed?"

"Not exactly, I'm just saying sooner or later, with new experiences..old habits _will_ die hard!"

She nodded, agreeing with Rikku's statement,

"I get it, kind of like what happened with Yuna, right?"

Rikku responded,

"..Something like that."

Paine crossed her arms, leaning them against the table while tilting her head to one side,

"So tell me, what's been making your old habits die hard Rikku?"

Rikku smirked, finding her question laughable,

"I dunno!"

As she continued,

"Speaking of Yunie though, has she told you about what's been going on with her lately?"

Paine's eyebrows raised in interest,

"Fill me in?"

"Okay! But you'll be a little surprised. She came to Bikanel the other night and went to my place..her eyes were really red, like she'd been crying, and when I asked her what was wrong, all she said was that her and Tidus got into a huge fight, because of her being jealous of something he said, which made Yuna raise a question..then i guess things escalated from there. That's all she told me, at least."

Paine sighed,

"Like the usual, life has it's ways of throwing surprises at us.."

Rikku's eyes were focused on the windowpane beside them,

"Yeah..but what I want to know is, since when do those two ever fight. I mean, what could they possibly ever fight about..that would question their relationship?"

Paine stared at the ceiling in thought,

"Well, since you know them both. Talk to Yuna privately about it when you get the chance, maybe."

Rikku placed a finger on her cheek,

"Good thinking Dr. P, that's a start..but it won't be that easy, you know how inside Yunie can be with her feelings, so I have to get it out of her."

Paine nodded,

"Just make sure you do what's necessary."

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Rikku was in the locker room, changing into her blitz unirform which looked similar to that of the warrior dressphere that she owned, a tight fitting one-piece attire, with diamonds for buttons, an opening down the middle revealing most of her torso, a bandana and matching boots with the Psyches coordinating colors of red, gray and brown. Just when she was about to be the last one out of the room to make it to practice, Gippal leaned up against the door, delaying her leave,

"Why are you always the last one out, taking your sweet time, is it?"

He pretended to be serious, questioning her in a serene tone. Rikku rolled her eyes, releasing a quiet breath,

"Ahh ha ha, are you really trying this with me Gippal. Just because you're team captain doesn't mean you'll ever be in charge of me!"

He laughed,

"I guess that's true."

"Okay, that's settled..now let me get by?"

Gippal looked away from her for a moment,

"There's no rush..besides, I wanted to talk to you about something."

Rikku grew anxious, waiting for what he might say next,

"Let me take you somewhere nice after practice."

Her voice cracked, though he didn't seem to notice,

"Um..for what, what's going on?"

"A date silly, we haven't been on one of those in a long time..what do you say?"

Before she could answer, his question brought back the feelings of that dream from last night, which ultimately became the culprit of her sudden blushing in the face, Gippal smiled unexpetedly,

"Eh..you're blushing."

But this was too much, the fact that he failed to realize something important..made her all the more irritated with him,

"Gippal, you don't remember that time..five years back when we met up in Djose?"

"Yeah, but you know how busy we both were."

"Ugh, come on Gipp..that's no excuse, we could've made time. You had the chance to have me again..but you never tried, instead you were all wrapped up in your big ego..thinking you can have me whenever you like."

He looked at her in confusion, shocked by her outburst,

"Why are you acting like this?"

She stared down at the floor below, hiding the formation of tears in her eyes until they finally dried up, with her words to a whisper,

"Because..you don't know how it feels to be ignored by someone you once cared about."

Gippal's eyes narrowed down at her,

"Wait a minute, after all this time.. and you didn't bother telling me you felt this way back then?"

She shrugged her shoulders carelessly, as she looked up into his sea green eyes, her eyes as clear as day now,

"..You're _now_ bringing it up, and back then it didn't seem you cared so i thought, _what would be the point in telling him_, plus your back was always turned. If you would have noticed me more often, maybe you would've seen it."

"Rikku.."

She gasped at the calling of her name, resting a hand on one hip,

"Rikku, Rikku is all you ever say. It's getting pretty old you know, now please move."

She waited impatiently for him to move away from door, though he showed no resistence..he still fought the urge to grab her by the arm and pull her close to him. Although he succeeded, he regretted the act of fighting it.


	4. Zylgycc

Gippal was laying on his backside, on top of the the circular ledge made of granite rock that surrounded the sphere pool, and divided it from it's stands. He placed his hands behind his head for support while looking up at the misty midnight sky, and letting its coolness sink into his skin. He could never ignore the reality that Rikku was different, something about her simply set her apart from other girls, although he had a crazy way of expressing it. Maybe it was because..ever since they were friends, a brighter reflection of himself, was what he saw in her.

As far as those words she confessed, ~_Once cared about~_

They continued to dance like wildfire in his mind, _~Did she mean it?~_

Not knowing was driving him further into torment, and being the typical Al Bhed that he was, a lack of patience didn't help much either.

"Es cilr y zylgycc . ."

He groaned as he vaulted off the ledge, walking towards the stadium exit.

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Though Rikku's eyes were shut, she was wide awake with her head resting peacefully on her pillow. The room was dark and unsuprisingly Gippal had crossed her mind. He had no idea how much strength it endured for her just to reject him, and previous to all of that happening, only a day ago she was almost certain things like this would be easy. After all, she had a hard time admitting the possibility that what they shared, might have never truly left. She'd wish there was a way to push her thoughts aside, but before she knew it, she was lightly dozing off into a slumber..until the familiar, soft siren of a sphere near her bedside was heard. She quickly shot up and noticed it was a call from the commsphere network on the celcius, and despite the time, she hurried down to the airship storage, located the celcius and entered it.

Taking a seat at Shinra's old workstation, she activated the network and tuned in to the call. Being shocked by the face that showed up, Rikku was even more concerned with Yuna's current state of crisis. For this wasn't like her,

"Yunie, what's wrong?"

"Rikku, I'm sorry if I woke you, it's just...I'm really confused."

"Why, what happened?"

Yuna seemed as though she was at a loss for words, unable to piece them together,

"Tidus..he..I don't understand it too much myself but..-

Rikku gestured for her to continue on.

"When we all helped reunite Lenne and Shuyin..you, me and Paine. You know how they faded together, and were finally able to rest?"

"Yes?"

"Well..because of that, Shuyin's soul was allowed to move on into new life. On into its next life and body."

Yuna watched the expression of her cousin become altered into a jumble,

"What the heck are you saying!"

"I'm not sure, but just try to hear me out, alright-"

"So that's why Tidus was brought back in one piece, an actual physical body with a soul, and no longer a dream containing nothing but a body. Getting it yet?"

Rikku scratched her head in discomfort,

"You aren't saying that Tidus possesses Shuyin's soul, right?"

Yuna took in a breath, trying to release the tension in her muscels,

"Yeah...apparently, it's his past life now."

Rikku was dumfounded, as her eyebrows raised in disbelief,

"Wow..that's so bizarre. Is that the only reason you were crying?"

Yuna shook her head morosely,

"No, that wasn't the reason at all."

"What else is it then?"

"I...don't really feel like talking about that part at the moment, I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Rikku agreed, regardless of the fact that she still wanted to know more,

"Yeah..I understand."

Yuna forced a smile upon her lips, one that didn't last very long,

"Thanks Rikku, goodnight."

When the screen went black, she shut down all of the controls and decided to crash in the celcius cabin..for the remaining of the night.

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**(Translations)**

**"Es cilr y zylgycc"= I'm such a jackass***


	5. Reconnect

A little passed midday the sun had already risen high into the clouds when Rikku headed back to her place, but soon halting her entry once she took notice of a small piece of paper in between the crevices of her apartment door. Taking a hold of this, she scanned it over as it read,

**_(Go to the lake, a meeting awaits)_**

Rikku stared at the note, thinking it was another gathering for blitzball, so she spent a few minutes cleaning herself up then followed the route through Bikanel City that lead to the proximity of the lake. When she arrived, the sight of an old Al Bhed ship piqued her interest, being that she hadn't been on one in ages. She stepped closer to the ship and couldn't help but wonder why it was there, soon watching the ship's interior lift with someone emerging from it. Gippal appeared with a black metallic box filled with mysterious machina parts, she squinted in his direction while eyeing the box in a questionable manner,

"..What is it you're up to?"

A slightly guilty smirk formed on his lips,

"Well you see, I..uh, kind of need help putting this together."

She looked away from him and covered her mouth so he wouldn't see the evidence of laughter,

"Gippal, if you really need help which i seriously doubt, then you should be ashamed of yourself."

He retaliated,

"I mean, I can..but this is different, it can only be built at its best from a girls perspective."

She glared at him in suspicion now,

"Really?"

He pleaded with her,

"Please Rikku?"

He looked at her with a sweet expression, one that would always to get to her, instantly making her forget the reason why she was so upset with him in the first place. She pouted,

"You're such a crook, you know that?"

He smiled at his success,

"Yes!"

**'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' ''''''''''''''''''''''''**

Sitting outside on the exterior of the ship, they emptied the box and organized the parts before placing them together. Rikku observed each fragment and realized there weren't that many, just a few small ones, a round head, two foot-like parts, a pair of eyes and a mouth. Along with micro machina joints that allowed everything to fit, preventing it from falling apart.

The machina only took nearly half an hour to assemble. Lastly attaching the head to the torso, Rikku held it up as it reflected off of the sun and giggled at its appearance,

"You had me put together a monkey.."

He nodded,

"Bingo, You like it?"

She placed it on the ships surface to have it stand up on its own,

"Just a little."

He laughed and was drawn back by her response,

"A little, ah..you don't care about me anymore, do you?"

She bit the bottom of her lip, playfully lowering her eyes at him without saying a word and decided to lay down on her side, relaxing on the ships metal exterior. Gippal followed, resting his backside on the surface and repeated himself,

"So, did you mean it when you said you didn't care about me?"

Hanging on to her silence, Rikku compressed her lips together and closed her eyes to avoid looking at him. He gasped, turning to his side to face her and used an arm to support his weight,

"Oh I get it, you're gonna keep me guessing!"

To put the silent treatment to an end, Gippal reached over and began to tickle her sides along with her bare abdomen until she released a cry of uncontrollable laughter.

**'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' ''''''''''''''''''''''''**

The sun had begun to set behind the far off buildings of Bikanel, in which the ship had sailed quite a ways from. Gippal was now laying face down, staring at Rikku, as her elbows lifted her upper body so that she could glance at the sky, but was soon interrupted once she felt his eyes peering at her,

"What are you looking at?"

She jokingly whispered, looking his way.

"I'm just thinking."

"Yeah, about what?"

He chuckled before answering,

"Sitting here on this ship reminds me of the old days..when your dad made us all go out and salvage underwater machina."

She shook her head, waving a hand in the air,

"Ugh, don't even bring up my pops. He worked us to the bone!"

A half grin covered his face,

"You never seemed to show it, you just had a lot of energy."

She sighed, moving her arms in order to lay completely on her back and place her hands on her chest,

"Believe me, I was tired just like everyone else."

Leaning on his arm again, he drew a finger across the pattern of the surface,

"About what you said last night...just to let you know,"

Waiting a moment before he spoke again,

"..I never stopped wanting you. I'm sorry I made you believe I didn't."

He noticed the sparkle in her eyes light up, as they glistened upon his. She wanted him too, and he knew it.

"..Gippal."

Gently gliding his hand across her stomach, from one side to the other, he held on and brought his face near to hers. Softly brushing his nose against her nose. In turn, she slowly shut her eyes, exhaling a breath, as he felt the warmth of her breath upon his lips. She placed her hands on his shoulders, bringing his mouth closer to hers, causing their lips to fall in touch. He slid his tongue delicately over the length of her lips to make them warm. The feel of it making her melt, with her arms falling gradually around his neck. Their lips calmly caressing each other in unision, and enjoying each's company.

Carefully breaking their kiss, Gippal realized it was nightfall,

"Almost forgot,"

Smiling her way,

"We have a game tonight, don't we."

Rikku licked her lips, savoring his touch..and placed both hands on the sides of her face,

"Oh...right."

He lifted himself from laying down, then extended an arm to help her up. She accepted his hand, as they went inside the ships interior to turn around and sail back to Bikanel.


	6. A Love Learned & A Love Lost

As the game between the Aurochs and the Al Bhed Psyches was moments away from starting, Rikku stretched outside of the sphere pool, moving her neck from either side which caused her to see Tidus slouching against the wall, leading up to the stands filled with eager blitz fanatics. She stared at his worrisome expression along with his struggle to stay focused. He glanced over at her in return, trying his best to smile..but failed at the attempt, making him look even more miserable. She hesitated, but then made a move to speak with him until Gippal came from the locker room, stopped her in her tracks by cupping his hand on the small of her back and twirled her around to face him,

"I'll race you to the top of the pool."

He winked at her in a flirtatious gesture.

"Ha haa, challenge the speed of a thief, I don't think so!"

Rikku dove in head first, swimming like a fish towards the top and leaving Gippal behind. He gasped, sprinting as fast as he could to catch up with her.

**""""""""""""""""""""**

Rikku was near the goalie when the ball was thrown at her by a teammate from the mid-section of the pool, getting ready to perform a special shot that she created when learning the ways of playing blitz better in her earlier days, before joining the team. But was soon intervened once Tidus swam from beneath her feet and charged at her with rage in his eyes..though it was only a second that fleeted by, Rikku saw it, and she knew it wasn't for her..but it was present. She dodged, being fortunate to have missed his hit and began to carry out her next move, pushing the ball forward a few feet in front of her with both hands overlapping each other, then cradling her knees to her face and turning over continuously on an axis to catch speed. As her rolling came to a slow, she clenched her fists together and pierced the ball with a swift moving punch into the goal post without effort, making it the Psyches winning point for the game. The crowd chanted. She looked over her shoulder at Gippal and smiled, watching him cross his arms proudly and giving back her affection with a half grin.

Sometime after all of the players left the pool, dwelling in her blitz attire, Rikku searched for Tidus in the stadium with no luck of finding him, so she ventured outside until finally locating his whereabouts and noticed that he was on his way to the lake to embark on the boat with the rest of the Aurochs back to Besaid.

"Tidus?"

She called out to him from behind, there was a hint of fear in her voice. His walking stopped as he shifted his head to the side before fully aiming in her direction,

"Hm?"

Rikku entreated with him, swaying her arms about,

"Would you look at me at least, you're starting to scare me."

Tidus respected her wishes and cornered himself her way, keeping his head down to evade any reaction from her while he still could. This didn't seem to phase her though, being that she ambled closer to get a better look at his face, quickly becoming aware of what he pursued to keep hidden. In turn, with a gentle and careful tone she whispered,

"Your eyes...they're red."

He overlapped his arms and sighed,

"Just exhausted, that's all."

She failed to believe his word,

"You're not being honest. What?"

He pushed the top and lower half of his teeth down onto each other, causing the muscels in his jaw to contract, not saying a word, hoping she would eventually leave. Yet, she didn't budge..as seconds flew by..to minutes. Then finally, shaking her fists in front of him,

"Tidus, look..I won't judge you because you're still you!"

He lifted his head, blinking twice, stunned by her outburst and realizing that she had already known half of the story well before,

"So then, you know?"

She shook her head,

"Not all of it, there's always two sides..so tell me your side of the story, too."

Tidus shut his eyes then opened them again to try and rid the dampness in them before he spoke,

"I'm really scared that I might be losing Yuna..."

Rikku seemed disheartened by his response, unable to understand,

"Why would something like that even happen?"

He scratched the back of his head, with his voice to a low pitch, nearly under his breath,

"Because of my past, I learned that I still need time to move on from Lenne..and that means...-"

He spoke up,

"I told Yuna...I needed time away from our relationship to do it, and I hoped that she'd wait for me. But it didn't seem to go as planned. She told me I wasn't being fair to her."

She opened her mouth just an inch to express her shock and gawked at him with great concern,

"You're kidding me, how could you do that to Yunie?"

He looked up at the night sky, watching the stars for any good answers,

"I was afraid you would react this way. Come on, Rikku.. do you honestly think I wanted it to happen like this...I hate hiding things from her!"

Rikku slightly threw her arms in the air, revealing her irritation for his stupidity,

"Memories are nice..but that's all they are in the end. That's why you have to learn to move on so you don't hurt the people who love you now, in the present!"

Tidus reciprocated, throwing himself at her,

"Maybe, but sometimes you have to put those things aside for a while until you let go, that way you don't have to keep lying to yourself!"

She frowned, lowering her voice to a reasonable tone,

"But...that doesn't always stop the person that was pushed aside from feeling unimportant..and the longer you make them wait, the more they may want to leave..and pretty soon, they'll be out of your sight."

He stepped back a little, giving her space and realized he was wrong,

"You have a point there. I'm sorry."

Accepting his apology, she returned it,

"I'm sorry too, I got a little mad at you there as well."

There was a moment of silence,

"Rikku?"

"Yes?"

He begged with all of the hope he had left,

"Will you come back with me to Besaid..I'm not sure what will happen, and I think I might need your help. Because if there's any chance that I won't lose Yuna..I know somehow you'll be the one to thank for it."

Rikku thought about it, without being certain of what was to come,

"I'll try my best..."

Following Tidus to the lake, they embarked on the boat that would soon journey to Besaid.

**""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""**

Once their destination was reached, the Aurochs went to go rest in their beds within the island's Inn while Tidus and Rikku traveled down the isle that lead to the small huts in the village. Everything appeared to be too quiet, possibly for the reason that everyone seemed to be at peace in their homes. Except for Yuna, who was sitting silently by the campfire..with her hands to her heart as she often does when in deep thought. Rikku tiptoed over to a tree by the exit of the village and crouched down beside it so that Yuna wouldn't see her. She kept in tune, watching Tidus saunter over to her, thereafter Yuna standing up on her feet,

"Yuna. I don't know when it will be that I move on..and I don't know if you'll accept this, but for each day it takes me to let go..I hope that in your heart..you'll find a way to forgive me."

She cupped her hands over her mouth, and felt the heaviness of her heart slowly breaking inside her chest,

"I forgive you...but I refuse to wait on a man who is still in love with his past..so much, that he can't even see what's right in front of him anymore."

He took her hands into his and held onto them,

"I desperately don't want to you to go, because after this is over..you will be all I want and more...but I also won't go on pretending like it's okay and lying to you."

Her eyes began to overflow with tears, letting go of his hands and turning her back to him,

"If you love her so much, and if its so true, its pointless for me to wait..because true love never dies...why don't you go live in the Farplane now, so you can be with her every day?"

A tear flowed down her cheek,

"...Yuna!"

She placed her hands tightly together, trying with all her might to keep her feelings intact,

"I thank you for your honesty, and everything you did for me. Goodbye Tidus."

With this, Rikku moved from her hideout and hurried to the campfire,

"Hey guys, h-hold on..can't you try and contemplate some more, i mean..things can get better, right?"

Yuna was startled by her presence on the island but continued not to look at him,

"You brought Rikku here, to involve her in this. Why?"

He wanted to feel her,

"I didn't want to lose you!"

Though her words denied it,

"And please, don't bother making this worse, your touch won't solve anything right now."

Ignoring her plead, he couldn't hold back and found himself doing it anyway, grabbing her by the shoulders and forcing her to turn around, seeing the thousands of tears he made. She shook away from his grip,

"Leave, now!"

Rikku gasped, reaching for Yuna when she fell to her knees, hiding her eyes behind her hands and began to pat her back in comfort by kneeling down next to her, as she accepted that was all she could do at this point. In the seconds of hearing her cry, Wakka came forth from the premises of his hut and rushed to put an end to their altercation,

"What's up now, ya?"

Glancing down at Yuna, he became conscious of her silent sobbing, and with an unpleasant must, he stated,

"I never thought I'd say this, brudda..but it's time for you to go."

Tidus failed to perceive this coming from his friend,

"But, Wakka!-"

Cutting him off, he stood his ground and raised his voice,

"Get out!"

He grunted in disbelief, fused with hurt, turning away and walking off to the Besaid shores. Yuna looked into the eyes of her cousin,

"Rikku. Maybe you were right back then, about doing something productive with my life again, instead of just staying in one place with one person. Maybe...I'll go join Paine, and help her with what ever she's doing in Spira now."

Rikku nodded, proceeding to comfort her, as her eyes widened with bewilderment at the words she spoke,

"That's right Yunie, just keep your heart open. I'm there whenever you need me..."

**"""""""""""""""""""""""**

Shortly after things settled down in the village, Rikku spotted Tidus standing on the sands near the sea shore, watching the moon project on the water. Gradually, she sauntered his way and stood beside him,

"It's pretty late, you know."

Tidus ran his fingers through his hair in deep stress, then placed his hands in his pockets,

"What does that have to do with anything?"

With care in her heart, she answered,

"It's late, and every one needs a friend when walking in the dark. I still consider you a friend, no matter what. And If you like, you can come home with me Tidus, until you find a place of your own there, because no one deserves to be alone in Spira."

Before she knew it, he had his arms wrapped around her, an embrace to relieve the grief in his soul. Feeling the hidden drops of traveling tears fall down the trail of her arm, as his head rested on her shoulder, and she held him in return.


	7. Keep Your Heart Open

Tidus opened his eyes just enough to stop the sun from blinding him as it shined brightly from the window of Rikku's apartment. He slept on her orange bean bag throughout the night, which sat across from her bed. Glancing over at her, he saw that she was still asleep, so he placed his hands behind his head and continued to relax, awaiting her rise. Until there was a knock at the door, she calmly arose from the bed, unlocked it and pulled it open, seeing that it was Gippal, he made his way inside while she closed the door behind him.

"Hey babe."

He gave her a warm smile as she laughed quietly at his greeting and rubbed her eyes, due to them being somewhat groggy,

"Hey yourself. ."

He looked around and noticed the familiar blitz player who was sitting on the opposite side of the room. Tidus waved a hand in respect and nodded his head. He waved a hand back, realizing they had never fully met, only heard about from Rikku, and played against him in their blitzball careers. There on, Gippal turned his head towards her,

"Fryd'c ra tuehk rana?"

He questioned her in curiousity. She sighed, knowing that Tidus was near to perfect in reading Al Bhed, but not so fluent in catching on to the words when it was spoken,

"Res yht Yuna fahd draen cabanyda fyoc mycd hekrd. ."

He shook his head, lowering his eyes to the floor and crossed his arms,

"Tysh. ."

She agreed with his statement,

"Hmh. E fyhdat du ramb res."

He rested a hand under his chin in thought,

"E caa."

He looked at Tidus again, directing his words to him,

"Hey man, what are you doing today?"

Tidus lifted himself from the bean bag and walked closer to where they were standing,

"Not much, just going to go look for a place to rent here."

He assured him.

"Sounds cool. So uh, how would you like it if you had a spot on our team?"

He offered. Tidus showed gratitude for his kindness,

"Awesome, I'm in!"

"Great, the more talent we have the better-"

Gippal turned to Rikku, who was now wearing a smile so big that it filled her face,

"And I guess we'll see you later then?"

Tidus smirked, heading for the door,

"Right on, I'll be there."

Rikku caught up with him as he moved out into the Bikanel walkways and shut the door so that they could talk privately,

"Tidus, wait. How are you feeling?"

He took a moment to answer,

"I think I'll be okay soon, thanks to you, Rikku."

She blew a breath of relief,

"Glad to hear it, I was kind of worried for a minute there."

Tidus shook his hand in the air,

"No worries. .I'll just keep in mind that Yuna wants me to find peace of my own. That's what she told me, the day before. .you know. It just took me a little longer to accept what she meant."

She nodded, without saying a word. He finished,

"That's also why everything happened the way it did last night, and I'm sorry you had to see it."

She responded almost immediately,

"No need to say sorry, I was only there to try and help, and I don't regret going."

A faint smile came across his face,

"You're amazing, you know that. ."

He then turned away and left before he heard her say anything else. She was surprised by his words, but despite being so, she re-entered her home and saw that it was empty, without the sight of Gippal anywhere. Laying face down on her bed, she shut her eyes,

"Hopefully today is a better day."

A small pinch was felt on the calves of her legs, she twirled around, becoming aware that Gippal had been hiding from under her bed as he was now standing beside it, shirtless, revealing the muscels in his torso

"It will be, know why?"

Going along with it, she inquired,

"Why?"

"Because I'm here."

She giggled,

"Ooo, rawr."

He crept into her bed until his forearms supported his weight while his body was laying over hers. He felt the velvet, tight skin of her stomach rub against his and gently nibbled on her neck with his teeth, then kissed it with his lips, she could feel the opening of his pants warm and start to harden as it grew in between her legs, making her wetter by the second,

"Let's have kids."

He whispered.

She smiled,

"Heh heh, how many?"

He kissed her collar bone,

"Seven. ."

She broke into laughter, which caused him to lift his head and look into her eyes,

"What!"

She held the sides of his face lovingly..with both of her hands,

"That's perfect. ."

With this, he moved in closer and found his way into her mouth, using his tongue. The clouds had begun to darken, as the rain was getting ready to pour onto the streets. A Rainfall to remind us all..to never forget, and keep our hearts open, always.

**_"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" """"""_**

**_TRANSLATIONS:_**

**_"Fryd'c ra tuehk rana?" = What's he doing here?_**

**_"Res yht Yuna fahd draen cabanyda fyoc mycd hekrd. ." = Him and Yuna went their seperate ways last night._**

**_"Tysh. ." = Damn_**

**_"Hmh. E fyhdat du ramb res." = Hmh. I wanted to help him._**

**_"E caa." = I see._**

**_""""""""""""""""""_**

_. . ._


End file.
